A bell chimed in the room, and every girl sitting jumped slightly. Rella felt somewhat comforted that she was not the only one terrified. The entire experience just became worse by the minute. Not only was she nearly naked, but she would be presented to who knows how many people with a bowed head. She shook with fear.
“Oh, it’s time.” The woman clapped her hands, her giddiness in stark contrast to the girls facing her. “Isn’t this exciting? Now, get in your line. The first name will be called momentarily.”
Rella looked at the board and saw she was ninth to enter. At least she wasn’t first or last. She moved with the rest of the girls, counting off until she stood in line. All she could see was the long, blonde braid resting against a naked back. The girl who she stood behind was tall and blocked the doorway. She could hear snuffling behind her. One or more of the girls behind had given in and broken down.
Anger finally started to rise in her heart. How was any of this useful in celebrating unity between the two races? How was this practice sanctioned by their governments? Terrifying females that were just beyond girls didn’t seem like something anyone would want. Then her mind rolled through her last two days. How had her sisters allowed this? Her father had allowed strange males to enter their home and violate her. How was that possible?
She was snapped from her musings when the girl in front of her was called and shuffled through the door. Rella finally had a glimpse at what was to come and she felt the blood drain from her face. She stood at the entrance to a dark tunnel, lined with flickering candles. She blanched and wanted to backpedal when her gaze rested on the males stationed every few feet down the path. They wore full armor, making them look even larger than they normally would. They all had turned to look at her with piercing eyes. Blank stares met her scared one. At that moment she felt completely naked. Not just in her skin, but in her spirit.
“Rella Cinder of the Massora Clan.” The voice of doom quietly sealed her fate as it came through the speaker. She stood still, too scared to move, but a shove from her side stumbled her forward.
“Go, dear.” The old woman had come up next to her and hissed in her ear.
Rella took a deep breath and then lowered head before stepping forward. She could do this. Eight other girls had just gone through this in front of her. She hadn’t heard any bloodcurdling screams or anything that would mean she was walking to her death. After counting fifteen steps, she could see a bend in the hallway. She turned and found herself only a few steps from the glowing stone they were told to stand on. She sighed and almost grinned. She’d made it that far. Now, all she had to do was stand on that spot until someone came to collect her.
She took the last couple of steps until she stood within the gentle light shining up from the floor. She kept her head down just as she’d been instructed even though she could hear male voices very near her. Fear had kept her blood pounding so loudly in her ears that she hadn’t heard other people in the room. Now that she was concentrating a little, the sounds filtered through her own heartbeat. Deep male voices were so close she thought she could stick a hand out and touch one of them. Fear and curiosity warred inside. What if she tilted her head just a little, could she see the males standing closest to her? If she did would she get in trouble and be punished?
Don’t look up. You don’t know what will happen if you’re caught
.
Moments passed. She wanted to fidget, squirm under the gazes she could feel crawling over her skin. Wasn’t someone supposed to collect her and move her to another location? What was taking so long? Just when she thought she’d have to give in and do something to release some of the nervous energy, she saw black boots enter her peripheral vision. She gasped quietly as a warm hand wrapped around her arm.
Warm breath moved over her ear before she comprehended the words whispered. “I told you we’d see each other tonight, little girl. Come with me now. We’re wasting precious time standing here.”
Chills coursed down Rella’s spine.
It’s him
. He held her upper arm in a firm grip. She’d dreamed of his voice, the feel of his warm breath skating over her skin. The words he’d whispered to her as she came apart with her release still echoed through her mind. He’d driven her repeatedly to a fevered state during the night as he visited her dreams and thoughts.
She stood frozen on the floor as her mind worked through the fact that one of the males who’d seen her come, listened to her moans, felt her body shudder in release stood next to her. All she had to do was look up and she’d see his face, be able to put an identity to the voice.
“Rella, move now.” She jumped at the gravelly growl from the male.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, shuffling forward. He led her by the arm toward the darkness. She wanted to raise her head and look around, but she didn’t want him growling at her again. She could tell by the long strides he took that he was very tall. He forced her to walk quickly to keep up with his pace. The grip on her arm wasn’t painful, but it was tight enough that if she dallied or stumbled, she’d be bruised.
He led her past a maze of legs and feet, always with a warm hand wrapped around her arm. She felt like a docile animal being led to slaughter. She could be taken, killed, mauled in an instant, and she wouldn’t see anything coming because she had her head down like the good little submissive. Did she dare look up, though? The male hadn’t hurt her and seemed to be dragging her through a sizable crowd without allowing her to be bumped or harmed. For the moment she felt better following directions and keeping her head down.
They passed through a doorway, and instantly it was quieter. They must have passed through a sound-disrupting barrier because she hadn’t heard the sound of a door closing. She took the chance to tilt her head and look at as much of the room as she could. Shock froze her steps. There were multi-colored pillows piled on the floor in one corner and a low platform along one wall. The item that caused icy dread to flow through her veins was a padded table that had shiny chains dangling above it.
He means to torture me.
She twisted quickly from the hand holding her arm and backed toward the wall. Fighting from the male’s grasp was a bad idea, but if she was to be tortured, she’d fight him as much as she could. Fear raised her heart rate, and she could feel the effects already working through her body. Her arms shook as she raised them in defense. At least there was only one male in the room. If she’d torn away while in the crowd, she would have seen hundreds of eyes boring into her before they hurt her. Slowly she brought her eyes up, cringing in anticipation of the anger she knew she’d see in the male’s face.
What she found was a staggeringly masculine male staring with a smirk on his lips. No anger shown on his hard face, but his green eyes held something so much more than laughter. She flinched from the look, but her body understood it. She could feel her belly warming and fear crept through her mind. She shook it off. There wasn’t much she could do about the way her body reacted to him. If she was honest with herself, he was the most delicious-looking male she’d ever seen. His hair was a dark amber color, long and pulled away from his face with two long braids that dangled over his shoulders and rested against a very wide chest. His jaw was hard and square, but she could tell that he smiled often by the small lines around his eyes and mouth.
She couldn’t stop herself from looking him over. The fear she was battling faded some when he didn’t do anything but look at her with amusement. He was dressed in black pants and a dark gray shirt. The piece of his chest that she could see gleamed slightly in the light. He was either bronzed from being in the suns or was naturally darker skinned. Whatever caused the coloring of his skin was to be commended for creating such a beautiful shade. The bit of skin she could see was smooth and hairless. She fought the crazy urge to lick him, to snuggle against him and bury her face against his chest.
A low chuckle brought her eyes back to his. A small smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “Are you going to fight me, little girl? Think you can take on a warrior of my size?”
The question reminded her of her stance. She jerked back up and hid her eyes behind her hands at the idea. She’d be punished enough to put her in bed for days if she actually fought him. Females never raised a hand to a male, ever. She shook her head, unable to find the words to save herself. She swallowed the whimper that threatened to escape. She’d made the mistake of pulling away from the warrior and now she’d take her punishment. They wouldn’t get the satisfaction of hearing her cry about it.
Long moments crept by, and her curiosity got the best of her. With slow movements she peeked, picked her head up and opened her eyes. She expected anger on his face. What she found was more of the same amusement and perhaps a touch of pity in his eyes.
He watched her with knowing eyes and sighed loudly. “Don’t fear me. I was just kidding. I know you wouldn’t fight me. You were surprised by the items in the room and reacted. You won’t be punished for that, I promise.”
Could she believe him? He could be lying to get her to trust him, but even if he was lying there was nothing she could do about it. He was so much larger and stronger than she, and there were hundreds of other males outside the doorway. She couldn’t flee, couldn’t stop whatever was going to happen. A flare of anger tried to take hold, but she pushed it down. If he saw that flash across her face, she’d be in more trouble. Anger tended to make her look defiant, and from what little she had understood of her introduction lecture, defiance would not be tolerated. In the end she did the only thing she could do. She clenched her teeth against the position she was going to take, knelt and bowed her head, placing her hands behind her back in the most submissive position she’d been taught and waited for whatever was going to happen. Swallowing back the anger took all of her energy, but she did it, breathing deeply after the emotion was mastered. She’d show him what he wanted to see because she had to, but he couldn’t make her want to.
* * * *
Sabar silently cursed. This wasn’t going the way he wanted. Once again, the stupid teachings were interfering with his plans. If the Tropustyr people would just teach their young about love and submission instead of hiding it all from them, the matings would be so much better. For the young to attend this event with no knowledge of what would happen was cruel, even to a warrior’s mind. He sighed. At least Rella wasn’t cowering and crying as so many of the first timers did. She was strong in both body and mind, and it drew him to her like a nocturnal insect to a fire.
Before she knelt he’d seen the flash of anger, and it gave him a thrill. He’d been waiting many seasons for a female to be strong enough to keep him happy. He didn’t want a timid female that took everything he said or did as law. He wanted an equal in his life. Someone to share with, to discuss matters with, and perhaps even bicker with. The females he’d seen so far were too docile. Genetics and teachings had stripped any willpower from them long before they attended a ball. Rella was proving to have more backbone than most. She’d tried to fight them the night before. She silently fought him now. He grinned, knowing she wouldn’t see the look with her head bowed. He was going to have fun with her.
Before he approached her, he signaled the overseers with a flick of his hand. She was his for the night. He wasn’t sharing and wouldn’t let her go until she’d accepted his promise as mate. It was just one more thing the young weren’t told. The males had the ability to claim a mate before the females were even told. Guilt tried to sneak into his heart, but he knew deep down that she was his. He’d known it from the moment that he told her to allow her first orgasm to crash over her body. She had been absolutely beautiful when she came. The look and sound of her release had haunted him all night. He hadn’t slept well and couldn’t concentrate on his drills. Every moment had been leading up to now. He’d hoped for a smoother introduction, even going as far as talking to a magistrate to see if he could just go to her home and collect her. The governments didn’t allow that type of thing. Instead they forced the terrorized unmated to attend compulsory events like the ball. It took the males hours of coaxing to calm the uninitiated until they would allow any type of bonding to occur.
He was pulled from his thoughts when a quiet sigh echoed in the room. He finally brought his attention back to the female waiting so perfectly and noticed her shoulders hunched. She was awaiting his reaction to her defiance, and he hadn’t even noticed. He swore under his breath and watched her wince at the words.
“Please, Warrior. I meant no disrespect. I’m sorry I pulled from your hand and didn’t immediately position myself for punishment. I have no excuse to offer.” Her voice was so quiet he had a hard time hearing. It sounded thick with emotion and it pulled at his heart.
“Look at me.” He put some command behind the words. There was no reason why he couldn’t start training her now, even with all the misunderstanding between them. Eyes pinched with rebelliousness rose slowly to meet his, and he didn’t stop himself from moving forward and cupping her cheek. He chuckled and smiled down at her. “Good girl. Now, I think we need to start over before either of us does something else we’ll regret.”
Sabar turned and walked to the low table and sat on the edge. He beckoned to her and patted his lap. He caught the quick look of surprise and concern before she blanked her face. She was good at hiding her feelings, but he was better at reading body language. He waited patiently for her to finish her internal debate and smiled encouragingly at her when she finally stood.
It was his turn to close off his face. He hadn’t really gotten a good look at her outfit earlier, but when she stood and he could see the chain of beads threaded between her bare pussy lips, he nearly came in his pants. She was beautiful with clothing or without, but the slave clothes enhanced her beauty. The breast binding was sheer and pressed her small breasts together, creating the slightest of cleavage. Her body was bare other than the bracelets and chastity chain. The copper of the belt flashed with each movement and drew the eye to her perfect pussy. Even now, with her exuding fear, he wanted to bend her over and take her. His cock throbbed with need.